Courage
by graffy
Summary: No one could tell Ginny Weasley she wasn't brave. a GH breakup story with a little HHr at the end.


A/N- back in school. eurgh. just a short ficlet that popped into my head while shopping with my mates.  
Disclaimer: i do not own harry potter. jkr does  
ps: i tried to make this a tad more descriptive, but overdescriptiveness isn't exactly my style.

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Ginny Weasley stared at her reflection in the mirror, blue eyes scrutinizing her face as she pursed her lips. Twisting side to side, she inspected her body, wondering what it was about her that didn't captivate him the way that _she _did. Maybe...maybe her hair? Too straight, or too red, or too...too...not hers? Maybe it was that she was too tall. Though, that had never exactly been a problem in the past, she couldn't help but wonder if the fact that she was so close to Harry's height (a mere three inches away, in fact) that made him want someone...smaller. Someone who could rest her head on his chest the way that she couldn't. Whatever it was...she knew that Ginny Weasley was not the one that Harry Potter was meant to be with. Brushing the hair out of her eyes as she began to feel tears burn, she sniffed them back, and straightened her jumper.

It _needed_ to be done, she reminded herself. In order for him to be happy, she had to do this. Oh, _Gods_, how she didn't want to do this! But…it had been about her for far too long. Now, she was doing this for him. He had been through so many hardships in his life, what with his parents and Sirius and Dumbledore and the Dursley's abuse...her poor boy didn't deserve what she was about to do to him. But, she knew that it would all work out in the end. It just _had_ to.

With one last glance into the mirror, she swiftly turned, leaving her dorm and stepping lightly down the stairs to the Commons Room, where Harry stood, waiting for her. Oh, he looked so handsome in his dark olive sweater, the one she'd given him for Christmas that year, and his dark blue denim jeans. His hair, as tousled as ever, came even more undone as he ran a hand through it at the sight of her and his magnificently coloured eyes sparkled behind his glasses.That slow, easy grin, the one that made her heart flutter like mad, slid across his face, and she nearly considered not going through with her plan at all.

But she had to.

"Hey, Gin," he greeted softly, bending forward to kiss her as she approached. Tilting her face away from his, his lips fell awkwardly on her cheek. She placed her hand on his chest, pushing him away lightly and blinking at his questioning gaze.

"We need to talk."

000

"I don't understand, Gin."

She sighed, pulling the sleeves of her jumper down more before she folded her arms across her chest. A soft wind blew towards them, and she just knew that her hair was blowing back perfectly. He was sitting a meter away from her, looking entirely too handsome for his own good. And for her own good. "There isn't much to understand, Harry. I…I don't think we should be together anymore."

"But _why_?" he questioned desperately, trying to scoot closer to her on the rock they both were sitting on. "Did…was it something I did wrong? What'd I do, Ginny? I swear I'll fix it. I swear, I'll…I'll be all yours, just _please._"

She sighed, standing and staring at the water of the lake that shimmered at her. Oh, what she wouldn't give to have him all hers. But she knew that it would never happen. He would never be completely hers. There had always been a part of Harry that she had known that she had never been able to grasp; a part of him that seemed to be more distant than the rest of him, and no matter what either of them tried to do, neither could **_do_** anything about it. He had to understand!

"You can't fix it, Harry. It's just something I need to do."

"But I love you!" he burst out, stumbling to his feet and coming to stand next to her. "I love you!"

"Oh, Harry," she said, turning and laying a hand on his cheek. He placed his hand over hers, thumb stroking against the back of her hand as hope flooded his features. "I have no doubt you love me. I just don't think you're in love with me."

"What's the difference?" he asked, rather stupidly (in her opinion).

She sighed, letting her hand slip from his cheek. "Do you love me, Harry?"

"Of course!"

"Do you love Ron?"

He paused, thinking over her question. "Yeah…but what's that got to do with the way I love you?"

Frustrated, she groaned, stepping away from him. "It has EVERYTHING to do with you and I, Harry! You love Ron, you love me, and you love…" she paused, taking a breath. "you love Hermione. There are different kinds of love, Harry, and I don't know if I take up the spot for the romantic kind."

Her heart was breaking. Her heart was breaking and it hurt and oh god she'd made him cry. His green eyes were swimming with tears, and he took two strides towards her and grabbed her hands.

"Ginny-"

"No, Harry," she said firmly, though she was threatening to collapse into tears at any moment. "This…this has to be done. We're through."

And she left him there, standing helplessly on a cold rock as she walked away in tears.

No one could tell Ginny Weasley that she wasn't brave.

000

_**Two Months Later**_

So, it had been a shorter amount of time than she had expected. But only by a month or so. All the same, it was nearly two months after their break-up when it happened. Harry had, in the Common Room, approached Hermione from where her head was bent over a heavy tome. "Erm…Hermione?"

Her head snapped up, bushy hair falling into her eyes. "Yes, Harry?"

Ginny held her breath, pausing mid sentence in her conversation with Lavender. "Er…" he stuttered, running a hand through his eternally messy hair. "I was um, wondering…if you wanted to come to Hogsmeade with me on Saturday. As my um…as my date?"

There was a moment or so of silence, as the entire room waited with baited breath. This...this was the relationship that everyone anticipated; the coupling of which everyone had expected. Now, it was happening before their

"Oh," Hermione said, and Ginny almost smiled at the surprise in her voice. It was as if she'd never even known that this day was a possibility. "Oh, Harry…I'd…I'd love to."

Harry let out a sigh of relief, and Ginny could almost hear the smile in his words even though she had her back turned to the scene. "Excellent. I'll, ahm…meet you in the Great Hall around nine?"

"Yes," Hermione agreed, dazedly. "Yes, of course."

"Right," Harry said, and Ginny closed her eyes as she heard him walk away.

It was two days later, on the day of the Hogsmeade Trip, as Ginny outside the Great Hall, that James Weaver, a Ravenclaw in her year, approached her and stuttered out a request for a date to Hogsmeade.

Ginny bit her lip, casting a glance to where a blushing Hermione and a dashingly bashful Harry stood in the Great Hall, tentatively reaching out for each other before twining their fingers together. Hermione looked up at Ginny's former beau, a good six inches difference in their height, and she attempted to tuck her wild brown and bushy hair behind her ears. Harry grinned down at her,

Smiling sadly, she turned and looked up at James.

"I'd love to."

Yes, no one could tell Ginny that she wasn't brave.

_**Finis**_


End file.
